Continuum in the News 2014

The latest and greatest about Continuum Managed Services.

In my last blog post, I discussed various considerations when choosing a file sync and share service. This month, I focus on an end-of-the-year wrap-up on what we learned in the SMB space in 2014, as well as what MSPs should be looking for in 2015. It’s hard to believe that the new year will be here in just a couple of weeks!

CRANBERRY TWP — Jeff Walker often gets called away from his day job, sometimes at short notice, to serve in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Some employers could see his absences as an inconvenience. However, Joel Kennedy of Continuum in the township has the opposite reaction, and he often works with Walker to give him flexibility in his work schedule.

Throughout this past year, I’ve discussed many topics in this blog series which I hope you’ve found helpful--getting to know your customers, employee satisfaction, combating business complacency and achieving a healthy work/life balance. As we say goodbye to 2014, I’d like to take a look back and review some lessons that I hope you’ve learned, as well as look ahead to 2015.

Noteworthy: The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense office, honored Kennedy with its Patriot Award recognizing supervisors who support service members through such things as flexible schedules and time off before and after deployment and leave. Jeff Walker, who serves with the Pennsylvania National Guard, nominated Kennedy for the award.

Just because BYOD (bring your own device) has only been around for a few years doesn’t mean that the number of organizations that are adopting it is slow; it’s quite the opposite, actually. Of course, as a technology gains popularity, so too do the risks that accompany it. If you are not familiar with BYOD and its risks and policies, then how can you mitigate them? Find out how you, as a MSP, can easily implement a BYOD policy for your SMB customers, beginning with the first steps to take in addressing BYOD security issues and how to solve them.

By now, you have likely heard of a term known as “The Internet of Things,” or “IoT.” Much like the terms “cloud” and “managed services” before it, the Internet of Things is poised to create new business opportunities for both current IT companies and start-ups. While it seems like IT executives are split 50/50 on whether IoT is a fact, or simply just hype, CompTIA recently published a research brief stating that IoT could be filled with new opportunities.

In my last blog post, I discussed various threats to an MSP’s business and how to overcome them. This month, I focus on why a file sync and share solution is the next wave of BDR, what MSPs need to know when choosing the right solution, and how they can discuss the addition with their SMB customers. In fact, this was a topic that was discussed frequently at this year’s IT Nation event in Orlando, Florida, which Continuum attended earlier this month.

Continuum Veterans Foundation donated $50,000 for a second year to Hire Heroes USA, an organization that works to create job opportunities for U.S. veterans and their spouses and lower the veteran unemployment rate.

Continuum this week launched Sync247, a solution designed to make the management of small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers' file sync and share applications "effortless and profitable" for managed service providers (MSPs).

Continuum is an interesting player in the IT-services channel markets. It is the three-year-old offshoot of the wreck of another managed service provider, Zenith Infotech, which just closed its doors after a long struggle to clear a major bond default in 2011.

While MSPs may make tool decisions on an a la carte basis, they can also tap into pre-integrated solutions. Continuum Managed Services, for example, integrated RapidFire's Network Detective with its RMM platform in 2012.

BOSTON and LONDON, Oct. 28, 2014 – Continuum, the industry’s only channel-exclusive provider of fully integrated managed IT services solutions, has extended its managed IT services internationally, opening a European Headquarters office in the Thames Valley region of England, a growing technology hub outside of London.

News from earlier this month has been confirmed: Continuum has hired InsightSquared's former Vice President of Engineering Chris Paul (photographed right). He will serve as chief technology officer and vice president of engineering for the unified managed services platform, and "is expected to take Continuum's product platform and portfolio to the next level of performance."

In honor of October being designated as Cyber Security Awareness Month, it’s only fitting that this month’s blog focus on how MSPs can protect themselves (and their SMB clients) from cyber-attacks and other types of network disasters. With viruses like Cryptolocker and Cryptowall 2.0 running rampant, now is the time for SMBs to re-examine their BDR and security policies.

It's only Wednesday, but it's already been an action-packed week for Continuum. One day after opening an office in England's Thames Valley and adding ex-Micropoint Managed Services executive Paul Balkwell as its European sales director, the Boston-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) software company today made several executive appointments.

In my last blog, I discussed why collaborating with other MSPs can make sense for business expansion. This month, I focus on strategies to overcome some of the biggest threats to your business. Working on just one of these at a time throughout the year will continually allow you to stay current and ahead of your competitors.

MSPmentor is taking a deeper dive into the IT security features and options that are available to managed service providers (MSPs) from their remote monitoring and management (RMM) and other platform partners. This week we are looking at what Boston-based Continuum has for MSPs.

The SMB space has undergone a sea change, resulting in new business priorities, new types of IT buyers, and more. VARs and MSPs should take into account the many nuances, says Anurag Agrawal, CEO of Techaisle.

Continuum in late September held its first-ever partner event as the managed IT services provider and its partners stand “at the threshold of an enormous opportunity,” the company’s CEO, Michael George, told Channel Partners.

Boston-based Continuum, a channel-only provider of integrated managed IT services solutions, recently hosted its first customer conference, which sold out at 450 attendees. The company supports more than 3,400 MSP partners serving 40,000 SMBs, and monitors more than half a million endpoints. CEO Michael George spoke with writer Colleen Frye about the enormous opportunity MSPs need to seize, and how “smartsourcing” can help them do that.

Continuum, a channel-exclusive provider of fully integrated managed IT services solutions, presented six awards to its top Managed Services Provider (MSP) partners during an awards ceremony at Navigate 2014, the company’s first user conference that took place last week at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. The event prompted Continuum to launch plans for Navigate 2015, Sunday, September 27 – Tuesday, September 29, 2015, at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

BOSTON -- At Continuum's Navigate 2014 conference here this week, several of the sessions focused on the new types of customers that managed service providers (MSPs) are likely to deal with today. As IT spending decisions shift from the IT department to line-of-business managers, MSPs are faced with a more business-oriented client with limited technology expertise. Session audience members took notes, pictures of PowerPoint slides, and asked questions, showing great interest in the challenges presented by communicating with these new IT buyers.

Continuum managed service provider (MSP) partners converged on Boston this week as the remote monitoring and management (RMM) software company hosted its Navigate user conference at the Seaport Boston Hotel. Approximately 450 people attended the event, which featured educational sessions, keynote addresses and even a fireside chat with Boston Red Sox President Larry Lucchino and Continuum Vice President of Sales Mark Connolly. But what were the big pieces of news that came out of the conference? Read on.

MSPmentor recently caught up with Continuum CEO Michael George at the company's Navigate 2014 conference in Boston to talk about acquisition strategies, RMM trends, telcos getting into the managed services space, the sunset for Zenith Infotech and more.

Continuum, the channel-only provider of fully integrated managed IT services solutions, has launched a new private forum for its 3,500 MSP partners. Continuum made the announcement at Navigate 2014, the company’s inaugural customer conference being held in Boston. The new Collaborate forum enables Continuum’s MSP partners to securely connect and share with their peers.

You can teach an old dog new tricks, according to ex-mindSHIFT Technologies CEO Paul Chisholm. The IT channel has evolved over the years, and Chisholm shared his thoughts on how managed service providers (MSPs) can succeed in today's market during a keynote address today at Continuum's Navigate user conference in Boston.

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) provider Continuum today launched Collaborate, an online forum that allows the company's managed service provider (MSP) partners "to connect, share and learn." The company made the announcement at its Navigate user conference in Boston.

In my July blog post, I discussed five steps to take before adding MDM to your services portfolio. This month, I focus on various avenues MSPs can explore regarding collaboration and partnerships. For example, if you don’t have an MDM or other currently sought-after technology in place, you shouldn’t take yourself out of the running in providing these services to a client that’s asking.

Continuum, a company that provides tools for MSPs including RMM and a 24/7 NOC, added a new product to its portfolio Monday at its Navigate conference in Boston that's focused on an MSP-centric file sync and share platform.

Continuum is leveraging its partnership with IBM(IBM) company Fiberlink to extend its reach in the mobile device management (MDM) market. The Boston-based company currently offers MaaS360 by Fiberlink as part of its remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution.

In the previous installment of “Breaking Bad," I discussed how to make a solid plan for navigating the industry trade show landscape. In this month’s blog, I offer a few tips on how to avoid becoming complacent in your business, by adding a few simple technologies to your services offering—all at a relatively low cost.

In my July blog post, I discussed why it makes sense to join a peer group. This month, I circle back to discuss a topic that I briefly mentioned in my June blog – specific revenue streams that MSPs need to be offering now, namely Mobile Device Management (MDM).

"Continuum, a channel-exclusive provider of fully integrated managed IT services, has added two senior account managers: Marty Lefebvre for the U.S. Northwest region and Ray Setiawan for the Northeast region."

"Continuum, which makes RMM software for MSPs, has added two new senior account managers to its ranks. Marty Lefebvre is in charge of the U.S. Northwest region, while Ray Setiawan handles the Northeastern territory."

"DIY SEO is not just possible, it's usually preferable," according to Eric Ward, a noted linking strategist and publisher of the Linkmoses Private newsletter. "Nobody will care as much about your business as you."

CompTIA CEO Todd Thibodeaux spends a lot of time thinking about the future – not only its technology, but its channel. That’s not so unusual for the head of a trade association, but what is unusual is who he’s talking to: Millennials.

It’s a known fact that many small businesses take significant risks when it comes to protecting their data, rationalizing, “Everything’s working fine now; we’ll invest in backup when our equipment gets a little older or our profit margins are stronger.”

In my June blog post, I discussed nine revenue streams that MSPs need to offer, such as mobile device management, service desk/help desk, BDR, cloud, and file sync and share. This month, I divert my thoughts to a more community-related topic — industry peer groups. More specifically, what a peer group is, the types of groups available and why it makes sense for MSPs to get involved with peer groups today.

Managed services enabler Continuum celebrated Independence Day by announcing the placement of 81 military veterans in the IT sector. The program, supported through the Continuum Veterans Foundation, had sought to place at least 50 in 2014

In the previous installment of “Breaking Bad,” I discussed “How to Choose the Right Vendor Relationships.” In this month’s blog, I offer tips and advice on how to provide a mid-year assessment on the health and wealth of your business.

As many of you know, Harry has been on a traveling streak these past few months. After completing a worldwide tour, Harry took the time to visit with our partners in the lovely city of Boston, MA (check out one of his blogs on this visit here), where he was able to meet with Continuum in time for the filming of its weekly MSPtv series.

Partnerships once again dominated the managed services headlines this week with IBM making perhaps one of the most significant announcements of them all. Big Blue launched its IBM Cloud Marketplace, putting them in league with cloud players AWS, Google and Microsoft.

Continuum recently announced that it will be the exclusive sponsor for all of HTG Peer Groups’ monthly online meetings for 2014. This is a great expansion in the current partnership between the two organizations. Continuum has been a long-time partner and sponsor of HTG’s quarterly Centralized Meetings.

In my last blog, I discussed why it makes sense for telco providers to become managed services providers. In this installment, let's look at the next steps in the MSP model: ways to improve profitability, automation and other areas such as overall customer experience.

Earlier this month, Boston, MA-based Managed Services company, Continuum, launched a new podcast series called “MSP Radio.” Podcasts will be broadcast weekly, and community members are encouraged to subscribe for instant streaming to their iTunes lineup.

Pricing strategies is a hot topic among managed service providers (MSPs), and for good reason. But it's not all about the bottom line. The pricing model an MSP adopts can impact much more than revenues and margins.

In the premiere installment of “Breaking Bad,” I discussed how MSPs can get to know their customers better. Now, in this month’s blog, I continue this theme by exploring the other lifeblood of an MSP’s business--your employees. More specifically, I dive into how you can retain and keep solid employees and talent, once you get them onboard.

It seems like a simple question for an IT provider specializing in telco services. “Do you offer managed IT services — why or why not?" It sounds simple, right? Well, not exactly, since it really is more than just a “Yes" or “No" response.

A strong IT services business needs top level sales talent to drive revenues. Here's how to attract, recruit and hire the best sales professionals. Plus, we'll share what you need to do to retain these in demand employees

Remote monitoring and management provider Continuum is offering a free migration to its backup and disaster recovery (BDR) platform to managed service providers who use Zenith Infotech’s BDR devices. The offer is designed to save these MSPs on costs to switch platforms amid questions about Zenith Infotech’s future viability.

When done correctly, teleprospecting can be a very useful tool for steadily increasing sales velocity, which is one of the biggest problems many MSPs run into. Here are six tips to get you started toward an effective teleprospecting approach.

Intronis is forming what it calls a strategic technical alliance with Continuum to integrate its cloud-based backup into the remote monitoring and management (RMM) company's platform for managed services providers (MSPs).

Continuum partner Joy Belinda Beland was the subject of an interview with channel publication SMB Nation, in which she touched on everything from how she got her start in the industry, to her upcoming plans for 2014. As the owner of the Los Angeles, CA-based MSP LA IT Girl, Joy also discussed her various SMB community activities, and the importance of industry peer-to-peer communications; Note that she will also be heading up a session on Continuum's Navigate Conference this fall, which focuses on the process for working with businesses to increase productivity.